User terminals, such as personal computers and mobile phones, execute various applications. One example of an application executed at a user terminal is a web browser with which a user terminal can access an internet and display data retrieved from an internet to a user on a display of the user terminal. The user terminal may be able to access networks other than an internet using other applications.
A user terminal may also be able to connect to a communication system. Data may be communicated throughout a communication system over a network such as an internet, such that the user terminal can connect to the communication system by connecting to an internet, e.g. using a modem. This allows the user terminal to communicate over the communication system. In order to communicate over a communications system a user may be required to authenticate to the communications system (or a delegate entity) by, for example, providing credentials such as a username and password.
The popularity of the Internet as a means of communication is currently increasingly rapidly. Using an internet as a means of communication may be beneficial to the user as this is often of significantly lower cost than using a telephone network (be it a fixed line or a mobile telephone network). This may particularly be the case for long-distance communication. The user of a user terminal may navigate to many different websites using a web browser on the user terminal. As the user navigates to particular websites a section of the user interface (UI) of the web browser may be designated for displaying data associated with a particular communication system. For example, an embedded object in the web browser UI may be for displaying data associated with the particular communication system, and may provide an interface for the user to access the particular communication system. However, in order for the web browser to access the communication system on behalf of the user the user is required to authenticate. For example, the user may enter his username and password into the web browser for authenticating the web browser to access the communication system on behalf of the user. Once the web browser is authenticated the user can use the web browser to communicate over the communication system or access details of his relationship with the communication system. Session identifiers are stored on a web server in the network such that the stateless HTTP protocol can support session state. The session identifier used by the web browser at the time of authentication of the web browser can be linked to the authentication of the web browser for accessing the communication system, such that the web browser is only authenticated for accessing the communication system for the particular session. In this way, the authentication of the web browser is limited in time. The session state information binds the web browser to the user and ensures that the communication system can associate the session to the appropriate data and resources. However, it can be frustrating and time consuming for the user to have to enter his authentication details for each session in which the web browser is to access the communication system. The user may therefore often decide not to authenticate, thereby preventing access to the communication system being provided in the web browser.
When a user joins a communication system he may enter various personal details and preferences. The user may also be associated in the communication system with a number of friends or “contacts”—interrelationships between communication system users. Once the web browser is authenticated by the communication system, then the UI of the web browser may display data retrieved from the communication system relating to the user, or to the user's contacts in the communication system. It can be important to ensure that the web browser is authenticated for accessing the communication system before displaying such data retrieved from the communication system. However, it may be desirable for this data to be retrieved without the user being required to enter his authentication details for each session in which the web browser is to access the communication system.